Undergraduate Course: Social Demography (SCIL10097)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course is an introduction to the social scientific study of human populations, including their size, composition, and components of change (mortality, fertility, and migration) in a global perspective. We will discuss questions such as:
- How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected life expectancy around the world?
- Why has the average number of children per woman declined to very low levels in some countries, but not in others?
- What are the causes and consequences of population ageing?
- To what extent does immigration change the population composition of a country?
This course combines theoretical foundations with hands-on activities. The theories covered include the Demographic Transition and Second Demographic Transition; the compression and expansion of morbidity hypotheses; and migrant fertility assimilation. In the lectures, you will engage with current debates about the validity of these theories, using examples from countries around the world. In the workshops, you will learn how to calculate and interpret the main indicators used by demographers, such as Life Expectancy at birth and the Total Fertility Rate. |
| Course description |
By the end of this course, students will understand the fundamental concepts of Social Demography, and will be able to apply basic demographic tools to real-world data. The course contents include:
- The Demographic Transition theory and how it can be used to understand mortality and fertility change across world regions
- Health and mortality: theories and debates (e.g., compression vs. expansion of morbidity) and measures (e.g., life expectancy, lifespan inequality)
- Union formation and fertility: theories and debates (e.g., the Second Demographic Transition) and measures (e.g., age at first marriage and fertility rates)
- Population ageing: theories and debates (e.g., crowding in vs. crowding out of government and family support to older adults) and measures (e.g., old-age dependency and support ratios)
- Migration: theories and debates (e.g., migrant fertility assimilation) and measures (e.g., net migration rates).
In the lectures, students will learn about the main theories and concepts in Social Demography, and engage with current debates about the validity of existing demographic theories for explaining population change around the world. In the seminars, students will learn how to calculate and interpret demographic indicators to understand real-world population data.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Open to all visiting students who have previously taken any introductory quantitative methods course. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 40 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 10,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 10,
Revision Session Hours 1,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
165 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Demographic report - 50% - max 2000 words
Essay - 50% - max 2000 words |
| Feedback |
Feedback on all assessed work shall normally be returned within three weeks of submission. Where this is not possible, students shall be given clear expectations regarding the timing and methods of feedback. Feedback will be provided on unmarked student-led discussions about the validity of existing demographic theories for explaining current demographic trends in different world regions. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of the main theories and current debates in Demography
- Compare and contrast theories of demographic change including mortality, fertility, and migration in a global perspective
- Know the main sources of data and methods used for demographic research
- Calculate and interpret simple demographic measures from real-world data
- Understand how social policies and institutions interact with demographic change
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Reading List
The reading material for the lectures will consist of academic articles, to be made available to students in advance of each lecture.
The seminar material will refer to the following books:
· Holdsworth, C. et al. (2013) Population & Society. Sage
· Hinde, A. (1998) Demographic Methods. Routledge |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Throughout the course, students will develop the following skills:
- Ability to critically analyse and understand theoretical and empirical work
- Ability to evaluate the validity of different arguments
- Numeracy skills
- Writing skills
- IT/software skills
- Ability to work individually as well as in teams to formulate arguments that are put forward for discussion |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Ginevra Floridi
Tel: (01316) 517112
Email: Ginevra.Floridi@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Ewen Miller
Tel: (0131 6)50 3925
Email: Ewen.Miller@ed.ac.uk |
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